I’m so proud to share this endorsement of Why We Came to the City today from author Darin Strauss. His kind and generous work as a writer, teacher, and father greatly inspire me. Many years ago ge was a mentor on my graduate thesis. Later I heard him speak about writing his memoir, Half a Life about a tragedy of his youth. What he said gave me the push I needed to write this novel, which began with a tragedy of my young adulthood.

“Like A LITTLE LIFE and THE LOVE AFFAIRS OF NATHANIEL P, Jansma’s WHY WE CAME TO THE CITY shows us, with beauty and insight, what it’s like to be young and smart in this time, and in this place. It’s a major achievement.”

- Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life